Corsair/B17 get a bit close…

dakka!-dakka!-dakka!-dakka!-dakka!:diablo:

:confused:
The fact the pilots HAD to take avoiding action means too close,they should have been able to continue on their paths and miss each other.
If it makes people feel really queasy after the event then thats not the correct effect.
Thankfully all ended well,but lessons should be learnt.

Apart from the posted u tube video there has been no news from anyone involved or comment from Lackland AFB. So was this really down to interpretation of one vid by the person who posted it?

On WIX there is one comment that the B17 was called in for a photo run while the Corsair was doing its routine.

I would expect this will serve as a reminder to everyone who flies as crew in every type of aircraft. Those of us who hear on the radio that other aircraft are in the vicinity and at a similiar height will remember the relief when a visual contact is made at a safe distance. And also recall the anxiety when looking for the other traffic. If the other aircraft is operating on the same frequency a rapid solution when no visual has been made is to climb or descend for vertical seperation. Decide early.
Late avoiding action gives everyone a fright.

At the risk of getting a flaming great flaming …..

I don’t think it was that close, when played at full speed it appears less dramatic.

I nearly posted the same thing, but was afraid of the reaction aswel.
I agree and don’t think it was that close and more a trick of angles and distance (look at the scale of the two aircraft together), however I do think the Corsair was surprised by the B-17s position and hence the reaction.

I like the Mowhawk by the way, very nice!

Personally i think the reaction of the Corsair pilot says it all. It was close.. and close enough for him to take immediate evasive action in pulling up hard. Also remember what the closing speeds of the relative aircraft would of been.

The camera may lie, but his reactions don’t!

“They are ‘miles’ away….The camera lies.”

As a photographer, I totally agree. Unless that’s a double-size Corsair, of course.

Why don’t we wait and see if it is investigated, and what conclusions the investigation draws? ..

no fun in that Ade, no fun at all, it would be mighty quiet around these parts if we adopted that policy. 😉

But then, I remember a letter in Aeroplane – I think – from someone circa 1995 who was quite adamant that the tail of the DH110 failed first at Farnborough in 1951, because he’d seen it happen, when film showed conclusively that it was the wing. Impressions can mislead (remember the airliner that crashed off the US coast, where a number of witnesses stated that they’d seen a trail of flame going up into the night sky, ergo it must have been hit by a missile?), and I don’t think there is any sensible way of telling from an image that big what the separation was, especially without knowing what the zoom factor (and hence how much the apparent distance was compressed by the telephoto effect) was, or how far they were from the crowd line – I’m guessing US regs put them quite a long way away.

Without that info, we are all just piddling in the wind. Why don’t we wait and see if it is investigated, and what conclusions the investigation draws? Oh, of course, it’s the internet, and everyone is an expert, and it’s all a conspiracy…

Apparently not, according to people who were there…

That shadow appears on the B17 wing less than 2 seconds after the Corsair pilot pulled up…If the Corsair pilot had delayed 1 second I think the outcome would have been a lot worse.
B17 appears at in the frame at .05, Corsair pilot reacts & contrails appear from wings at 0.06, shadow crosses B17 wing at 0.07.. but in that one second the Corsair climbs quite a bit.

They are ‘miles’ away….

The camera lies.

I concur, the depth of field is a playing trick here. Note that the wing of the Corsair casts a shadow over the wing of the B17 several seconds later. If it were dangerously close, the shadow would have passed over very quickly if not at the same time. (IMHO)

That shadow appears on the B17 wing less than 2 seconds after the Corsair pilot pulled up…If the Corsair pilot had delayed 1 second I think the outcome would have been a lot worse.
B17 appears at in the frame at .05, Corsair pilot reacts & contrails appear from wings at 0.06, shadow crosses B17 wing at 0.07.. but in that one second the Corsair climbs quite a bit.

. This is not necessarily a problem, as long as the pre-arranged de-confliction line/height (which enables concurrent display flying to take place) is not infringed by either aircraft.

… they don’t hit each other:rolleyes:

A classic case of belly up vs belly up, leaving both pilots blind until very late, at the critical point. This is not necessarily a problem, as long as the pre-arranged de-confliction line/height (which enables concurrent display flying to take place) is not infringed by either aircraft.

If the corsair pilot could see the B17 closing in from above and from his right as appears here, why would he pull up? It would be interesting to see it from another angle – perhaps from head on…

Close, but not THAT close….

I concur, the depth of field is a playing trick here. Note that the wing of the Corsair casts a shadow over the wing of the B17 several seconds later. If it were dangerously close, the shadow would have passed over very quickly if not at the same time. (IMHO)

At the risk of getting a flaming great flaming …..

I don’t think it was that close, when played at full speed it appears less dramatic.

Maybe a slight illusion with subject depth comes into play here, down to the limitations of the lens.

Once again, just an opinion which in no way affects your statutory flaming rights 😉

hard to tell exactly how close from one angle was it in front or behind the B17, looks in front to me.

They were belly to belly. I thought the Corsair was slightly behind the B17. You see the shadow of the Corsair pass over the B17 wings as he pulls up.

hard to tell exactly how close from one angle was it in front or behind the B17, looks in front to me.

It looked like a last second pull up,he ended up behind – – just 😮

hard to tell exactly how close from one angle was it in front or behind the B17, looks in front to me.